L-10

L-10 seen here making a dive in Bantry Bay, Ireland, summer 1918. This is a test dive to check systems and get a good fore and aft trim before heading out on patrol. The object seen just in front of the conning tower fairwater is the barrel of the 3"/23 caliber deck gun. It retracted into a vertical position when not in use, with the breech end enclosed in a watertight tub that penetrated into the pressure hull in the forward battery compartment. Bantry Bay was used by American and English submarines during WW I. American submarines would make 10 day patrols looking for German submarines and shipping to attack that were trying to sink Allied merchant and naval shipping.

Compared to today’s submarines that have a almost unlimited patrol time, these vessels were only capable of an average patrol of about 10 days. These boats had little food and freshwater storage and no refrigeration or air conditioning. Bathing and toilet facilities consisted of an open bucket. They were constantly damp inside making it nearly impossible to dry clothing. All of this severely affected the living conditions and limited the crew's endurance.

On one patrol the L-10 was heavily depth charged by the American destroyer USS Sterett (DD-27) in the Irish Sea after the submarine had developed an oil leak. The Sterett thought she had found a German U-boat. L-10 managed to surface and identify herself before the destroyer was able to use her guns to try and sink her.

Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

L-10 with signal flags flying sailing past an American battleship, probably the USS Nevada (BB-36) in Bantry Bay, Ireland, summer of 1918.

Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

L-10 loading a Bliss-Leavitt Mk 7 Mod 0 torpedo at her berth in Bantry Bay, Ireland, 1918. A rope and pulley system was attached to the periscope shears behind them, and the weapon was slowly winched down into the torpedo room and onto an inclined skid. Once fully inside the room the aft end of the skid was lowered to horizontal and the weapon/skid was pushed into position in the room.

Seen just forward and on either side of the open hatch are the three white painted heads of the K-tube passive sonar.

Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

Return to the L-class page | Return to the Submarine Classes page

Page created by:
Ric Hedman & David Johnston
1999 - 2023 - PigBoats.COM^©
Mountlake Terrace, WA, Norfolk, VA
webmaster at pigboats dot com